Explore the subtleties of artistic conception

Author: Gu Feng / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-12-01
Features: The fifth, the creation of the "virtual realm." Liu's concept of "" (from The Art of Rhetoric: On Objects and Scenery), refers to the "virtual realm." "," where does the remainder lie? It lies in the "hidden"! So, how to hide? Broadly speaking, there are two methods of "hiding": one is "internal hiding," which means hiding within the words and spaces, seeking "depth"; the other is "external hiding," which means hiding beyond the words, seeking "distance." Depth leads to "concise words yet abundant meaning," and distance leads to "near events yet distant allusions" (The Art of Rhetoric: On the Classics). Only in this way can the "deep and profound, with subtle and encompassing lingering flavors" be created. A perfect literary realm is composed of the "integration of bright scenes and emotions" in the "real realm" and the "emotions and scenes beyond the imagery" in the "virtual realm." As shown in the figure: The aesthetic effect of the virtual realm is "lingering flavors." This also reveals the aesthetic relationship between "flavor" and "realm." Having only the "real realm" is a dead realm, but with the "virtual realm," it becomes a living realm, a spiritual realm, and thus brings "lingering flavors" and infinite artistic vitality. Only in this way can "articles become more radiant with age" (The Art of Rhetoric: On Flaws), because "the past, though old, brings new flavors every day" (The Art of Rhetoric: On the Classics). Therefore, excellent literary realms, such as those of Tang poetry and Song lyrics, are immortal! As Cao Pi said, literary creation becomes a "great event without skill." The sixth, the artistic principles of creating the "virtual realm." The Art of Rhetoric: On Concealment and Brilliance states: "Some obscure to be profound, though deep, is not hidden." He believed that "depth" and "hiding" are not the same. "Depth" is "obscure." Obscure meaning is "obscure," and readers finding it difficult to understand is "blocked." Some deliberately create profundity, making the text obscure and hard to understand; others flaunt their knowledge, intimidating readers with difficult and strange words—neither is "hiding." True "hiding" is "natural brilliance" or "secret echoes passing sideways, hidden colors subtly revealing." Like "the changes of hexagrams in mutual bodies, the hidden pearls in rivers and streams," it allows the "lingering flavors" beyond the text to naturally "encompass" within the imagery, thus creating the "virtual realm." This is an artistic principle for creating the "virtual realm." 3. The creation and use of the term "realm." In The Art of Rhetoric, the terms "image," "imagery," and "realm" are used. First, "image." The Art of Rhetoric uses "image" 21 times, distributed across 13 chapters. There is the meaning of "object image," such as in the chapter "On the Dao": "The sun and moon stack like jade, hanging the beautiful image of the sky." In the chapter "On Thought and Imagination": "The divine use connects with images, and emotions transform what ised." Here, "divine use connects with images" is synonymous with "the divine and the material interact." There is also the meaning of "image," such as in the chapter "On Emotion and Style": "Summarizing the spiritual, depicting the image of objects." The material below is called "" (object), and "" is "" (form), so "" (image of objects) is "" (image). In the chapter "On Comparison and Inspiration": "All these vivid images are the meaning of 'comparison.'" Next, "imagery." Though used only once, its significance is extraordinary. Before Liu Xie, "" (intention) and "" (image) were used separately and were mostly limited to "" (Book of Changes studies). Liu Xie first combined the two characters into one term, creating the term "imagery," and first used it in literary theory. It is the product of "the fusion of mind and matter," and it holds revolutionary significance for later Chinese poetics and aesthetics, especially for the aesthetics of "realm." Next, "realm." Mr. Ruan Guohua said: "Except for the supplementary text in 'On Concealment and Brilliance,' there is no 'realm' in the entire text of The Art of Rhetoric."① This statement is inaccurate. In fact, besides the one instance of "realm" used in the supplementary text of "On Concealment and Brilliance" (i.e., "realm of profound thought"), two instances of "realm" were used. One is in the chapter "On Rhapsodies": "Like the realm of poetry and painting." The other is in the chapter "On Discourse": "Extremely moving, reaching the realm of wisdom, the realm of Prajna." The former is the original meaning of "realm," and the latter is the meaning of "Buddhist realm," but neither has the categorical significance of the "realm" in the supplementary text. In summary, for the aesthetics of "realm," Liu Xie's contribution lies in creating and using the term "imagery" in literary theory; he also used the term "" (taking images) successively in the chapters "On the Dao" and "On Official Correspondence," though not specifically for literature, it was used in a literary theoretical work. These had a certain influence on later literary theorists in the use of terms in the aesthetics of "realm." In conclusion, Liu Xie's aesthetics of "realm" is primarily reflected in three aspects: First, from the cultural origin, he discussed the important significance of natural scenery for the origin of literature and the "taking of images" for "realm," initially solving the cultural roots of the emergence of literary realms. Second, from the perspective of literary psychology, he comprehensively and systematically discussed the artistic creation issues of "taking images from objects," "internal construction of realm," "artistic expression," and the pursuit of the "virtual realm." Third, the creation and use of the term "realm," though initially simple, has had a lasting impact. Liu Xie's aesthetics of "realm" is rich and brilliant, a theoretical summary of the previous concepts of "realm," and also laid a comprehensive and solid theoretical foundation for the formation of the "realm" category in later generations. Section II Wang Changling first proposed the category of "realm" In the history of the aesthetics of "realm," Wang Changling was an important figure. Some say, "Wang Changling's theory of 'realm' in poetry is the intermediate link between Liu Xie's 'imagery' and the Tang Dynasty's theory of 'poetic realm.'"① This is very true. However, whether the Poetic Method was written by Wang Changling has always been debated. From the Northern Song's Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi's New Tang Book, Cai Zhen's Collected Records of Poetic Windows (partially), to Chen Zhensun's Annotations to the Catalogue of the Direct Library in the Southern Song, they all believed that Wang Changling wrote the Poetic Method. In the Yuan Dynasty, Xin Wenfang's Biographies of Tang Poets, Hu Wenhuan's Comprehensive Guide to Poetic Methods, and Gu Longzhen's Guide to Poetic Studies all followed the Song Dynasty's view. However, the official Qing Dynasty's General Catalogue of the Four Treasuries strongly denied this, calling it a work "fabricated by later generations." This view had a significant impact. Until the 1980s, this view still held the dominant position in academia. In the 1986 edition of The Great Encyclopedia of China: Chinese Literature, Mr. Zhou Zhenfu wrote the entry on "realm," stating: "But the Poetic Method is a forgery, now a settled conclusion." Mr. Fu Xuancong wrote the entry on "Wang Changling," taking a reserved stance, pointing out: "As for the existing Poetic Method and The Secret Principles of Poetry, whether they are Wang Changling's original works still awaits verification." A breakthrough in this issue was the rediscovery of The Secret Treasury of the Mirror of Literature. In the sixth year of the Guangxu reign (1880), Yang Shoujing went to Japan for investigation. During his stay, he searched extensively for Chinese ancient texts scattered in Japan, writing Chronicles of Books Sought in Japan. In volume thirteen of this book, he introduced the ancient manuscript of The Secret Treasury of the Mirror of Literature. This event drew the attention of the Chinese people and also promoted research on Wang Changling. In 1943, Mr. Luo Genze, based on the materials in The Secret Treasury of the Mirror of Literature, concluded that chapters such as "Seventeen Tendencies" and "On the Meaning of Poetry" were "remnants of Wang Changling's true Poetic Method." He believed that "among those who studied poetic tendencies and poetic methods with the surname Wang before, only Wang Changling existed," so "the author must be Wang Changling.①" Later, another piece of evidence was found in's Table of Offering the Collection of Liu Xiyi to the Court: "Wang Changling's Poetic Method in one volume, this was found by chance near the author while in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient poetic methods, though there are several, modern scholars love this method."② Lu Xinyuan's Supplementary Collection of Tang Literature volume sixteen also includes this text, titled Table of Offering Books. This evidence strongly confirms Wang's authorship. In the late 1970s, Mr. Li Zhenhua, a Chinese-American scholar and professor of the Department of Humanities at the University of Michigan, in his book Wang Changling, affirmed that the Poetic Method was written by Wang Changling. In 1988, Mr. Li Zhenhua co-authored with Mr. Fu Xuancong, discussing various sections such as "Tones" and "Six Meanings" in Wang's work, all of which "collected Wang's poetic theories."② In 1996, Mr. Zhang Bowei, combining the above new research findings, "divided Wang Changling's Poetic Method into three volumes,"③ and conducted a collation and examination. This is currently the most complete and detailed text of the Poetic Method.